In this past presidential election, gun control was an intriguing topic that was debated between the two candidates. Speaking from personal experience, the discussion of firearms is often filled with misinformation, buzzwords, and fear. Anti-gun legislation has been discussed after violent tragedies, as lawmakers ride the event and use it for political purposes. The portrayal of guns in the media does not help people understand them either. Guns are dangerous weapons and should not be taken lightly nor should they be loosely regulated. I consider myself a firearms enthusiast. To those of you that have discovered this about me, you may think that I am a dangerous person, a criminal, and illogical member of the NRA who only takes information from Fox News.  To the many of you that know me, I am none of these things. This rhetoric-driven finger pointing is the most disturbing consequence of fear and misinformation in the gun-control debate. I will not argue for or against particular legislation because I believe a more pressing issue in the pro-gun movement deals with the reasons to keep and bear arms.

Many us have been exposed to firearms all our lives but have not really given them any thought until it is brought up in a political discussion. I am a strong advocate for gun control, but only sensible gun control. I would be willing to bet that many Prep students see at least one gun each day. When we take public transportation, many of us pass police officers who are armed and yet none of us are ever harmed from such a presence of firearms. No weapon leapt out of its holster and shot someone. Gun ownership is in itself a political statement, yet the gun-control debate should be dominated by logic and not by fear. A similar result can be seen in discussion of the right to carry pocket knives. All of us have knives in our kitchen, dozens probably. Most of these are much larger than those allowed to be carried legally in NJ. We have no problem using an eight-inch kitchen knife yet someone will be gripped with fear when given a two-inch pocket knife as they are led to believe it is a weapon. A kitchen knife can certainly be used as a weapon if misused just as a pocket knife can be used as a weapon for unlawful purposes if misused. The reason why I utilize this exaggerated example is because I believe it is the user and not the object that should be identified as the source of wrongdoing. I believe that any person who is of age, good mental health, and in good standing with the law should be allowed to keep weapons in his home and on his person if registered and concealed. Large caliber or small, automatic or semi-automatic, I leave that for the lawmakers.

I believe that I should be able to own and carry a concealed firearm concealed where it is legally permissible. I do not believe that I am given the right to take a life, but I certainly believe that no one else has the right to take my life or the life of one of my loved ones. I believe in the preservation of life, not the elimination of it. You may respond, “Why do you need a gun to protect yourself when you can just call the police?” All I ask is for you to use logic and to play briefly that scenario in your mind. You are being held at gunpoint and your life hangs in the balance of a violent person. When will you have the time to call the police? I would certainly love to have an armed professional guarding me for all hours of the day, but I know that will never happen. What most obviously separates a police officer from the average citizen is training. Why not do the logical thing and take a firearms safety and tactics course to make you as a gun owner just as effective?  I have had firearms training and enjoy trap shooting whenever I have the time to travel to a range. I still feel like I need more training to handle such dangerous things safely because my thought process is governed by logic and not fear. I hope that you, the logical reader, will stop and realize that dangerous things can be used safely with good intention and concern. Fast cars, roller coasters, and even peanuts can prove fatal to many if common sense and logic are not part of their operation.